FKF – Sports Africa

FKF reacts as match-fixing vice rocks Kenyan football again

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The Football Kenya Federation has assured the public of its goal to protect the reputation and integrity of the game as match-fixing claims infiltrate the country’s football environment.

This comes hours after the police in Nairobi arrested three match fixing suspects, Russian Akhiad Kubiev, Ugandan Bernard Navendi and Kenyan Martin Munga Mutua on Friday night as the trio attempted to manipulate a Kenyan Premier League match scheduled for Saturday.

The three were arrested in Roysambu after they were set up by former footballer Festo Omukoto, and seven Nairobi City Stars players who were approached to assist in manipulating their Football Kenya Federation Premier League tie against Sofapaka on Saturday at Ruaraka Grounds in Nairobi.

In a Saturday’s statement, FKF vowed to protect the integrity of the game in the country as match-fixing claims in Kenya’s football ecosystem emerge again.

“The federation wishes to reassure all football stakeholders and the general public of its commitment to safeguarding the integrity of all its leagues and competitions and has established with the assistance of FIFA and local clubs an elaborate system to assist in detecting, preventing and reporting match manipulation activities. Due to the sensitivity of the case, FKF will not be commenting further on the matter until investigations are concluded,” FKF Chief Executive Officer Barry Otieno said.

In February this year, FKF commenced investigations against then Mathare United players Lennox Ogutu and Alphonce Ndonye over similar claims, with the club suspending them

“FKF wishes to inform your good office that it has opened investigations into the allegations touching on both players and requests you furnish the FKF Integrity Department with the official contact details inclusive of known email addresses and telephone numbers of Mr Ogutu and Mr Ndonye,” read part of the statement signed by Michael Kamure, the Head of FKF Integrity Department.

The players were to receive a sum of KES1.8 million ($14,000) if the deal went through and pocket KES30, 000 each through Mpesa as bus fare to the match venue.

Kenya: FKF, Mozzart Bet partner in KES60m cup deal

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Football Kenya Federation Tuesday unveiled leading online gaming firm Mozzart Bet as its official FKF Cup partner in a three-year KES60 million deal.

Following the partnership, the knockout competition will now be renamed Mozzart Bet Cup.

Speaking during the launch, Mozzart Bet Country Manager, Saša Krneta expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership while reiterating the gaming firm’s commitment to supporting local football.

“We are thrilled to work with the Football Kenya Federation to promote football in Kenya and provide opportunities for young players to showcase their skills. Our sponsorship of the Mozzart Bet Cup will help to build a better future for the sport in the country, which aligns with our values and goals.”

FKF CEO Barry Otieno, on his part, expressed his gratitude to Mozzart Bet for coming on board.

“We are grateful for the belief Mozzart has shown in football, especially at this time, when football was without any commercial partners. This partnership marks the first step towards rebuilding the football brand, after the lifting of the FIFA suspension,” said FKF CEO Barry Otieno.

Up next is the Mozzart Bet Cup round of 32 action that will take center stage this weekend, starting March 4th – 5th 2023.

Kenya to impose criminal penalties on match-fixing culprits

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The Kenyan government has threatened to open criminal charges against individuals nabbed in match-fixing cases.

Penalties including jail terms will be applicable to culprits caught in the menace as confirmed by the Sports Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke.

Kenya is desperate to cleanse the rot in its football ecosystem after FIFA recently punished officials, coaches and players mentioned in match-fixing habit.

Kenya’s football governing body, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) a fortnight ago suspended 14 players and two coaches for match-fixing in domestic leagues.

Six players from Zoo Kericho FC were suspended by FKF after the same club was found guilty of match-fixing by FIFA’s integrity unit in 2021,attracting an expulsion from the FKF Premier League as a consequence.

“We will work with the Registrar of Sports and the federations to stop this vice just like we did with the doping menace in the athletics where we called Athletics Kenya (AK), the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the DCI, the police department and the immigration department and we agreed to stop the vice same will happen with match fixing,” Mueke said.

The move is long overdue after retired President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law an anti-doping bill that criminalised doping in April 2022.

Kenya: KEFWA condemns Trans-Nzoia Falcons owner’s ‘inhumane’ act to players

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The Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (KEFWA) has strongly condemned the inhumane act by Trans-Nzoia Falcons FC owners towards their players.

The FKF Women’s Premier League side’s owners were over the weekend reported to have kicked players out of their residential camp after losing a league match 3-0 to Vihiga Queens.

According to videos making rounds on social media, beddings and other personal items reportedly belonging to Trans-Nzoia Falcons FC players are seen being thrown out of rooms occupied by the helpless athletes to the dismay of onlookers.

Swinging into action, KEFWA has cursed the beastly acts against the affected ladies believed to be engineered by their employer.

Beddings allegedly belonging to Trans-Nzoia Falcons FC players being thrown out of their residential camp. Image/Facebook

In a Monday’s statement signed by KEFWA President James Situma as seen by Sports Africa, the association said;

“We have noted with a lot of concern the inhumane act by the management of Trans-Nzoia Falcons FC, where they threw out players from their residential camp after their match against Vihiga Queens, citing dismal performance.

“We strongly condemn and deeply saddened to hear of such acts in an era, where the advocacy of rights and welfare of players globally are strongly guided,” the statement noted.

KEFWA further revealed that it will work with the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to find a long lasting solution to such like cases to avoid recurrence in future.

“No cause can justify such brutality, we are working in partnership with the Football Kenya Federation (KKF) to engage the club and tackle the issue at hand.

“Meanwhile, we call on all football stakeholders to recognize that the player is, human then an athlete. Therefore, every player must be provided with a safe and secure workplace and a sporting environment, holistically promoting their physical, mental and social well-being.

“Additionally, the employer (Club) and officials must treat and support players with the utmost integrity.”

As part of the remedy, KEFWA underscored that it will;

Continue creating awareness on safeguarding the rights of our members

Collectively work with our partners, The Center for Rights, Education and Awareness which specialises in legal and health systems response to raise community awareness of SGBV cases through advocacy

Work in partnership with FKF to develop long-term solutions concerning players’ welfare

Encourage timely reporting of cases of abuse among others through the following helplines; 0720357664/0747205407

Kenya: Reprieve as CAF reinstates B License Course after lifting of FIFA suspension

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A total of 25 Kenyan coaches will eventually complete their CAF B coaching badges after CAF reinstated their licensing.

This has broken a year-long wait after their course was disrupted by Kenya’s FIFA suspension as a result of government interference.

The group was the second cohort to participate in the first-ever CAF B coaching course in the country.

Their class was disrupted after Football Kenya Federation was disbanded by former sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed.

FIFA lifted the suspension on November 28, last year but even then it was not clear whether CAF would let the course resume.

“I am happy for these coaches. They have waited a long time to complete an important professional qualification that will open doors for them. I am also happy for Kenyan football because we have now upgraded 50 coaches to an elite level and this is crucial for us to develop tactically as a country,” FKF CEO Barry Otieno.

“In our plans, we should be at 100 CAF B coaches by now but that is the cost of interference, “ he added.

George Midenyo, a former Harambee Stars fullback, said the return of the course was a big relief.

“It feels good to be back. We depend on soccer, when football stops, income stops. It’s hard to be a human being in that situation.”

Former Starlets player and assistant coach Jacqueline Juma said faith got her through the period.

“Whatever God starts he finishes; I am so grateful that we get to complete our course. As a coach this is an important qualification for our professional journey, some of us have missed opportunities because we do not have this diploma. Now we have our chance.”

Abdinasser Kassim of Good Hope Soccer Academy echoed her sentiments.

“It has not been easy, some of us nearly gave up on football but we came together as a group and encouraged each other to persevere. Now we go on and change the face of football in our communities, and for me, that is Mombasa County. “

The cohort also includes Kariobangi Sharks Head Coach William Muluya, former player Stephen Ocholla, and Bidco Assistant Simon Wagema. Others are George Ouma of the M-Pesa Foundation Academy, Nasoro Mwakoba of Kenya Navy FC, and Pascal Ochieng of Posta Rangers.

This course is part of a series of capacity-building coaching courses that have delivered 5302 coaches at the introductory CAF D level and 420 coaches at the CAF C level.

“This diploma will open doors for me, even to jobs outside Kenya,” Midenyo added.

The course was delivered by FKF Education Officer Salim Ali and CAF Instructor Leonard Odipo.

Additional reporting by Football Kenya Federation

Kenya: Sports CS Namwamba announces the return of SuperSport in KPL

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Kenya’s Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba Monday announced that plans are underway to see the return of a broadcaster in Kenya’s top football ecosystem.

Speaking during a boxing day friendly match pitting record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia and Rarieda Combined XI in Rarieda, Siaya County, Namwamba shared the development amid top-flight football in Kenya struggling, with clubs and fans craving for a return of football on television.

According to Namwamba, a deal has been sealed with the South Africa-based media company MultiChoice for the return of live broadcasts of Kenyan Premier League (KPL) action to SuperSport.

It is predicted that live broadcasts are set to commence by the end of the ongoing 2022/23 FKF Premier League season.

Kenyan football has been ailing in recent seasons after various sponsors and broadcasters exited the Kenyan football scene citing unfriendly working environment.

Betting firm SportPesa, broadcasters StarTimes, gaming company BetKing and SuperSport have all cancelled their partnership deals with the top notch football organisers in Kenya due to inner wrangles and mismanagement issues in the game.

These inner fights also led to the suspension of Kenya by FIFA, further putting the country’s football in jeopardy in November 2021 before the ban was lifted recently.

SuperSport parted ways with the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) in 2017 after operating in the country for a decade, a reported disagreement between the broadcaster and the FKF President Nick Mwendwa on league expansion was at the center of it all.

A Chinese-owned company, StarTimes won the rights to broadcast KPL matches in 2020 but shortly packed out after just an year, blaming FKF for funds mismanagement.

The company had signed a seven-year contract worth KES860 million with FKF. A host of KPL clubs had strongly rejected the deal.

The return of SuperSport in Kenyan football will be welcomed by most clubs that were left grappling with financial constraints as potential sponsors had also opted out of the game over fiscal challenges.

SDT puts Kenya’s new football season kick-off on hold

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Confusion in Kenyan football continues as the game heads back to the courts, two days to the commencement of the country’s new football season.

The Sports Dispute Tribunal under the chairmanship of John Ohaga has warned against the start of 2022/2023 football season without promotions and relegations in different league categories.

National Super League side APS Bomet alongside another lower division club Kona Rangers have been mentioned as first and second petitioners respectively in the application at SDT, challenging the decision by FKF to nullify the disputed 2021/2022 football leagues in Kenya.

In the same case, Dimba Patriots, Mayenje Santos and Kibera Soccer Women have been listed as interested parties where Football Kenya Federation and Football Kenya Federation National Executive Committee have been named as first and second respondents respectively.

In the SDT rulling of 15th November, 2022, the Tribunal in accordancye with the matter brought before the court by an application dated 14th November 2022 ordered that;

The application be certified as urgent and services be dispensed within the first instance.

The Honourable Tribunal also declared the resolutions made by the FKF National Executive Committee on 9th November 2022 , nullifying the 2021/2022 football season and scraping promotions and relegations in the country’s football leagues as null and void.

However, the Tribunal granted temporary injunction staying the decision made by FKF National Executive Committee on promotions and relegations, pending the full hearing and determination of the petition.

The Tribunal went ahead to issue orders setting aside the resolutions of the first and second respondents declaring that there will be no promotions and relegations in the football league for the 2012/2022 season.

The Tribunal also ordered the third respondent ( Football Kenya Federation Leagues and Competition Committee) not to commence the 2022/2023 football season on 19th and 26 November 2022 without including the petitioners and interested parties in the recently released fixtures for the 2022/2023 football season.

In addition, the Tribunal ordered that the cost of the application be borne by the first (FKF) and second (FKF National Executive Committee) respondents.

The particular application is ordered to be served upon the respondents immediately and in any event before close of day on Friday 18th November, 2022.

In the same rulling, John Ohaga also ordered that the matter be listed for mention for directions on Tuesday 22 November, 2022 at 2:30pm via Microsoft Teams.

This development comes two days before the start of Kenya’s new football season after confusion engulfed the game owing to the FIFA ban imposed on the country in February due to government interference in the federation’s affairs.

The whole of 2021/2022 football season in Kenya was ran by a Caretaker Committee put in place by the former government after the FKF National Executive Committee was disbanded by the then Sports Cabinet Ambassador Amina Muhammed in November 2021 over alleged funds embezzlement.

Sadly, the same Committee was not recognised by FIFA, meaning the Kenyan football played within that period was null and void before FIFA as well.

Similarly, immediately after they were reinstated by the new government, FKF NEC resolved to nullify the disputed 2021/2022 football leagues earlier this month, setting new dates for the 2022/2023 football season kick-off, a matter that has been challenged.

Meanwhile, it is not clear whether the scheduled fixtures in Kenya’s new football season will go ahead as planned this weekend or not.

FKF lines up mandatory PET for match officials ahead of new football season

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The Football Kenya Federation has lined up mandatory Physical Endurance Tests (PET) for match officials drawn across the FKF leagues heading into the country’s new football season.

A three-day Physical Endurance Test (PET)training for 80 Elite FIFA, FKF PL referees and assistant referees, and 41 FKF PL match assessors and commissioners will be the first to kick off the exercise on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, and Thursday, November 17, 2022, at the MISC Kasarani Annex ahead of the 2022/23 FKF Premier league season kick-off.

FKF National Super League (FKF NSL) match officials will then follow suit between November 22, and November 24, 2022. Thereafter, FKF Division One League referees will have their day between November 28, and November 30, 2022.

This exercise is aimed at ascertaining the physical preparedness of the match officials ahead of the kickoff of the 2022/23 season.

The PET training will be spearheaded by Margaret Omondi, Stephen Oduor, Dorcas Moraa, Moses Osani, and Damaris Kimani and will close on Thursday, November 17, 2022.

Courtesy | Football Kenya Federation

FKF nullifies the 2021/2022 football league season, sets new national leagues kick-off dates

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The Football Kenya Federation National Executive Committee has nullified the 2021/2022 FKF Premier League season, setting kick-off dates for the 2022/2023 national leagues.

In a Wednesday statement seen by Sports Africa, the reinstated Committee passed that the 2021/2022 FKF Premier League, National Super League, Women Premier League, Men’s Division One and Women’s Division One leagues will not be recognised, hence declared null and void.

In addition, the FKF National Executive Committee decided that there will be no promotion nor relegation in the FKF Premier League, National Super League and Women Premier League.

At the same time, there will be no promotion nor relegation in both the FKF Men’s Division One and Women’s Division One leagues.

In other directives, the 2021/2022 FKF Division Two, Regional and County leagues under the Branches, in accordance with the FKF statutes and the FKF Rules and Regulations (2019) Governing Kenyan Football shall be recognised and their decisions upheld.

The 2021/2022 FKF Division Two, Regional and County leagues have been allowed to promote and relegate clubs in their respective tiers.

In fresh developments, the 2021/2022 FKF Men’s and Women’s Division One leagues will be expanded for the season 2022/2023 to include teams promoted from the FKF Division Two and Women’s Regional Leagues respectively.

The FKF NEC also directed that the FKF Men’s Women Division One leagues will be regulated in the 2023/2024 league season.

After waiting for so long, the same committee also passed that the 2022/2023 FKF Premier League season will start on November 19, 2022 while the National Super League will start on November 26, 2022.

The kick-off dates for the FKF Women Premier League, Women Division One league and Men’s Division One league will be December 3, 2022.

Football Kenya Federation has officially resumed duties after the Kenyan government recently complied with the FIFA requirements in order to lift the international suspension imposed on the country in February 2022.

This is after former Sports Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Amina Muhammed in November 2021 disbanded the FKF office before putting in a place a Caretaker Committee to run the country’s football over graft allegations involving FKF.

Meanwhile, the resolution by the FKF National Executive Committee has been guided by the FKF statutes, FIFA statutes, FKF rules and regulations (2019) and the Sports Dispute Tribunal rulling on a number of cases filed at the Tribunal in relation to the 2021/2022 league season.

Lifting of Kenya’s suspension by FIFA near – FKF confirms

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The Football Kenya Federation has communicated that the uplifting of the current suspension of Kenya by the world football governing body, FIFA is near.

Kenya and Zimbabwe were in February 2022 banned from world football by Fifa because of governmental interference in the running of the game.

Kenya’s sports ministry, under former Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Amina Muhammed disbanded the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) over alleged misappropriation of funds and appointed a caretaker committee in November 2021.

The saga also saw FKF President Nick Mwendwa arraigned for the same reasons before the state later set him free citing lack of sufficient evidence.

“They know what needs to be done for the suspension to be lifted and for them to be re-admitted,” Gianni Infantino, president of world governing body Fifa, said earlier.

On February 24, 2022, FIFA through a letter decided that the lifting of Kenya’s suspension by FIFA will be subject to the following conditions;

That the repeal of the Cabinet Secretary’s decision of 11 November 2021, which appointed the Caretaker Committee in lieu of the elected FKF ExecutiveCommittee.

Secondly, FIFA’s receipt of confirmation of FKF and its management, led by Vice President Doris Petra and General Secretary Barry Otieno that the FKF and its premises are once more under their full and unconditional control.

In statement seen by Sports Africa on Friday, FKF General Secretary Barry Otieno confirmed that the new government has complied with the FIFA requirements, meaning the existing ban will be lifted in ‘due course.’

“We are, therefore pleased to announce that the government has fulfilled the aforementioned conditions as set out by the FIFA council, as part of the ongoing efforts by the government to allow Kenya’s return to international football,” Otieno said.

In this regard, the federation will in the coming days communicate the next steps, including the status of the just concluded 2021/2023 league season.

This development comes a day after Kenya’s Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba reistated the disbanded FKF National Executive Committee.

The particular ban also locked Kenya out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to be hosted in Ivory Coast.

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